English Literary Drama and Debate Society (ELDDS)

The English Literary Drama and Debate Society (ELDDS) is one of the most colourful and dynamic co-curricular activities in the school. Armed with the vision to develop young students in becoming confident, poised and eloquent communicators that enjoy, appreciate and strive towards literary and cultural excellence, students undergo an extensive programme curated for Debate and E-journalism. The programme develops and nurtures students to exercise their creative, intellectual and oratorical capacities.

Our members strive to be confident and eloquent communicators that strive towards literary and cultural excellence.

Teachers in Charge:

Mrs Mona Seah and Ms Ratnawati Rawi

Organisational Structure:

Awards and Achievements

2024 Achievements

In February, the school debate team participated in the annual national debate tournament, Singapore Secondary Schools Debating Championships (Division III). At the end of the preliminary rounds, the team was ranked at 11^th position out of 26 schools on the Preliminary Rounds League Table.

Notable Personal Achievements for the debaters:
Best Speaker for 1st round - Jayne Kuan 3 Commitment
Best Speaker for 2nd round - Gracelyn Ong 4 Respect
Best Speaker for 3rd round - Gracelyn Ong 4 Respect

In March, four Vibes writers took part in the annual Unity Writer’s Festival. One of our writers, Eriffah Ardilla bte Norman (4 Respect) emerged 3rd place in the Poetry Section.

2023 Achievements

Our debate team showed their true mettle in the Dunman High Debate Open (Silver Division), beating Division II teams - Whitley Sec (Round 1), ASRJC (Round 3) and Maris Stella at the Semi-Finals. At the Grand Finals, the motion was 'This House, as a talented sportsperson from a minority group that is underrepresented pin the sport, would adopt the selfish striker mentality.' The debate team, as the Opposition, beat Nan Chiau High and emerged as Champions (Silver Division).

The Silver Finals Best Speaker is awarded to Joey Oh, Third Opposition speaker. Joey Oh and Gracelyn Ong, were also ranked 3rd and 7th respectively on the top 10 Best Speakers. The accolade is attributed to the passion and hard work of the team, consisting of Joey Oh Jo Ee, Gracelyn Ong, Chua He Ying Nicole, Su Yee Linn and Kasumi Yamashita.

2022 Achievements

Singapore Secondary Schools Debating Championships Semi-Finalists

Live On Essay Writing Competition - Merit, 5th place (Junior Category)

2021 Achievements

On 14 August, a team of Sec 1s and 2s participated at the Hua Yi Debate Invitational. It was their first open debate tournament. It was a daunting experience and the students pitted their skills against schools beyond our school cluster. The team has truly done us proud as they emerged as the Quarter-Finalists, among 40 other debate teams.

The young team of debaters are as follows:

1. HUMARANG SABRINA GABRIELLE SORTIJAS (1 CHR)

2. JOEY OH JO EE (1 ITG)

3. GRACELYN ONG XIN LING (1THK)

4. AUNI TAN BINTE ZAKI TAN ABDULLAH, the Debate Captain (2CMT)

5. SAHU SHREYA (2THK)

Our debaters in action: Gracelyn, Auni, Shreya, Sabrina and Joey.

2021 - 2022 RP Media Challenge (Commendation Award)

2021 Live On Essay Writing Competition - 1st place (Junior Category)

2020 Achievements

During the unprecedented times in July, two debate teams took on the challenge to participate in the Debate Association Debate Championships (DADC) 2020 which was held online. As a result, all the trainings were a different ball game as face-to-face interactions took a back seat.

It was a true test of the debaters’ grit. However, they rose to the occasion and beat 7 other teams to emerge as Champions of the Silver division. Kudos to these two teams of fighters.

Evergreen Team B emerged as Champions at the Silver Division of DADC 2020 Team B comprised of Bernard, Marsya, Musfirah and Lea.

The Division 3 Debating Championships held in January 2020 was a test of the debaters’ grit and teamwork as they had to participate in three rounds of debate in a day. The debaters would testify that it was a truly enriching experience and a valuable opportunity for dynamic teamwork.

Bernard and Marsya achieved the Best Speaker Award at Rounds 2 and 3 respectively.

Debaters: John Poon, Celeste Lai, Sonia Ong, Marsya Faied & Bernard Lau.

2020 Live On Essay Writing Competition - 1st Place (Junior Category)

This competition is organised by the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU) of the Ministry of Health, Singapore, to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation. The first place winner, Ching Yu Eng of 2 Dynamic has demonstrated empathy and awareness of the audience in her essay. Her persuasive essay coupled with her touch of humanity and philosophy clearly shows that the e-journalism training equips our writers with the skills to be a sharp, discerning writer with a heart.

Read her winning essay here!  https://www.liveon.gov.sg/showcase.html?Institution=EvergreenSecondarySchool.